Yugioh: Lost in the Cards
by dreagune tm
Summary: One night Kari Tsukumo finds a man on the side of the road. She takes him home and he teaches her how to duel. He knows only his name, Nick, and how to duel. He knows he must find out what he used to be and remembers some parts when he sees some cards. She wants to help him in any way she can, partly because she likes him, but there are others who don't want him to remember…
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Stranger on the Road**

Kari's POV

My name is Kari Tsukumo. I live alone in an apartment in Heartland City. I have deep dyed red hair in a ponytail and three spikes facing downward at the front. I wear a light blue t-shirt and an unzipped chest jacket. I also wear white jeans with a brown belt.

It has been two years since Yuma started traveling the world with his friends Bronk, Flip, Caswell, Cathy, Shark and Tori. I was at the top of my career in writing and I thought I was about to get the story that would take me to the news, but it was actually going to be the adventure of my life, and it all started when I got one email. The email was from my boss, saying that there was a robbery at a bank and the regular field reporter was out so I had to go there.

"Yes!" I cheered, grabbing my helmet and the keys for my motorcycle. "This is it, Kari. Do this right and you're in."

I rode off as fast as I could and when the city was in sight I saw him. There was a man in a hoodie and jeans lying in the middle of the road. I pulled over to help him. He hadn't shaved in a while and had black hair and brown eyes. Under his blue hoodie that was now one or two sizes too small he had huge muscles concealed by a black shirt. He was wearing this weird thing on his arm that had two blade-like things and a circle connecting them.

"Who are you?" He asked, startling me. "What year is it? Where am I?"

"I'm Kari Tsukumo. It's 2056. You're in Heartland City." I explained. "We need to get you to a hospital."

"That your bike?" He pointed to my motorcycle.

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll drive." He got up and brushed himself off.

"Wait!" I ran after him.

"What?"

"You might have a concussion so I don't want you driving my motorcycle."

"Well I don't want people thinking that someone I just met is my girlfriend and I'm whipped because I sit on the back."

I was a little shocked. "Fine." He drove around the entire city not asking for directions before we got to the hospital.

"Help!" I ran right to the desk.

"Fill this out and wait here." The woman didn't even look up, she just handed me a piece of paper with a clipboard and pencil.

"No, you don't understand I found this man in the middle of the road!"

She looked at the man who was just cracking his back. "He looks fine."

"He was in the middle of the road!"

"I understand that, but we have rules here and if you don't want to follow those rules I'm afraid I can't help your boyfriend."

"He is not my boyfriend!"

"Whatever. Just fill this out."

I took the clipboard and took it to the man.

"Name?" I asked.

"Nick." He said.

"Nick what?"

"Nick… I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know your last name?"

"I haven't had to say it in years. The only thing I know is my first name and how to duel."

"Well that's a big help." I went back to the desk. "He says he feels fine so we'll just go."

"Awesome." The woman said sarcastically.

I brought him back to my place and gave him a blanket and pillow for the couch. "So you like dueling?"

"It's saved my life more times than I can count." He answered.

I sat on the arm of the couch. "So where's your D-Pad and Duel Gazer?"

"My what?"

"The things you need to duel." I laughed because I thought he was making a joke.

"Where I come from you don't need all those fancy things, all you need is a Duel Disk and a deck."

"No one's used a Duel Disk in over twenty years."

"Really? Well they're much more reliable than any other thing. Watch." The two blades on his wrist combined at the top and went back to the outside of his arm. He drew a card from one of his deck boxes and slapped it down on the Duel Disk. I didn't even have to put my Duel Gazer on to see the skinny silver dragon with a red head, legs, and wings. It also had a spear attached to its head. "Dragunity Aklys."

"How? All old Duel Disks had their hologram generators taken out."

"This one made it through." He put the card back in the deck box. "So do you duel?"

"Nah. My brother's the one with the skills."

"I could teach you. I got two decks here." He pulled off one of his deck boxes and tossed it to me.

"R-really?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Yuma tried to teach me how to duel once, but I was "too slow a learner" for him. "Because I'm a really slow learner."

"Trust me. I won't have to teach you much."

"What does that mean?"

"Take the deck out."

I did what he said and heard a woman's voice. "Hello, Kari Tsukumo."

"What was that?" I was so shocked I dropped the deck. "Oh, sorry." I started picking up the cards.

He started helping me. "So you heard a voice?"

"It sounded like a woman's voice."

"I think I might know who it was."

There was one card left and we both went for it. Our hands touched and I felt a spark, like more than dueling was supposed to happen between us.

I started blushing and put the card in my pile. "So how about we get in the shower." I suddenly realized what I said. "Get you in the shower! How about we get you in the shower!"

"Sure I could use a shower." He was blushing too, but much better at hiding it than I was. "Do you have a washing machine around here?"

"Yeah it's downstairs, but it takes a while. I think some of my ex's old clothes will fit you." I gave him a towel and my ex's leather jacket, black t-shirt and jeans.

After he came out of the shower I asked if everything fit okay.

"Perfect." He answered. "You didn't throw out that hoodie, did you?"

"No I'm washing it. Why?"

"That thing's been with me for years."

"I could tell. It had some holes and when I found you it was basically gripping you."

"Yeah. Is there any place around here that makes clothes bigger?"

"No. But believe me, you aren't the only one who whishes those things exist."

"I bet. So about dueling…" He went on to explain how summoning, Spells, and Traps work.

"Do you get how those work?" He asked.

"I think." I said. "So Spells can be played right away, but don't have to be, but traps have to be set first, and you can't use a Spell or Trap the turn it's set?"

"Yeah." He said, enthusiastically. "And monsters?"

"Anything Level four or lower can be set from the hand right away, five or six have to tribute one, and seven or higher have to tribute two."

"Correct. And you said you're a slow learner."

"I was, but I guess you explain it better."

"So I think that's enough for one night. We can pick up whenever tomorrow."

"Okay."

"And Kari."

"Yeah."

"Thank you for letting me stay here."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Natural Disaster**

Nick's POV

After Kari let me stay in her house for a week I decided that I needed to get a job to help pay rent. I had no papers and the end of the month was just a few days away so I had to get something fast.

"Did he really make that much in one night?" A guy with a deep voice asked his friend on the subway. I looked over and I could tell he didn't want to be seen. The guy was wearing an overcoat with the collar pulled up and a low hat.

"Yeah." His friend was dressed the same way and had an even deeper voice than his friend. "One grand. And he didn't even win."

"Excuse me." I interrupted. "Does this 'win' thing have something to do with dueling?"

"Keep your voice down!" The first guy whispered at me. He handed me a piece of paper with an address and a word. "Go here tonight at midnight and say this. And bring your best deck." The guys both got off at the next stop.

Later that night I was about to sneak out, but Kari caught me.

"And where are you going?" She said with a harsh tone.

"Here." I handed her the piece of paper.

"What is it?"

"Some kind of duel tournament. I heard on the subway that some guy made one thousand and he didn't even win."

"So underground dueling?"

"I think so."

"Well I'm not going."

"Wasn't expecting you to. But can I borrow your motorcycle and Duel Gazer?"

"Only _I _get to drive _my _motorcycle."

"So can you drive me?"

"No!"

"Come on! I'm doing this for you."

"What does that mean?"

"I feel like dead weight around here so I'm getting a job to pay rent."

"But this isn't a job!"

"Yeah, but it's a gateway to the pros."

"You think you're good enough to go pro?"

"I think I can be the next King of Games."

"Alright, I'll take you, but on one condition."

"What?"

"If you lose now you never try underground dueling again."

"Deal."

She grabbed her keys and we left.

When we got to the place it was just a rundown warehouse. There were holes in the ceiling and no lights.

"This the place?" Kari asked.

"Let's find out." I went over to the door. "Minotaur!"

"Who is it?" A pair of eyes appeared behind a sliding bar on the door. The voice was the same as the first guy's on the train.

"A duelist." I said. "And friend."

His eyes went to Kari. "Welcome." The door swung open and all there was behind it was an empty room and a staircase.

Downstairs was where all the duels were happening. I couldn't see anything at first, but then I put on the Duel Gazer. I saw monsters that I hadn't seen before. There were monsters that looked like flying sharks and turtles, monsters that looked like kid magicians, etc.

"So who are you dueling?" Kari asked.

"I dunno." I said. I looked around and saw my name on a screen under another guy's. "I guess I'm dueling Natura."

I had twelve minutes to prepare my deck and get in the ring. After both of us were in the ring a wrestling-style announcer said, "Ladies and gentlemen! We have a new challenger! Give it up for Nick!" The crowd only booed at my name. "And Natura!" The crowd cheered.

Natura had a ladybug mask covering her face. I could tell she was a woman because of her long black hair and her full figure. She was wearing a tight green blouse and a green short skirt.

"I'll make the first move." Natura said. "I draw! And I summon Naturia Cliff!" Naturia Cliff had 1500 Attack. I didn't have a Duel Gazer, but I was still able to see her monster. It was a grey block with arms, legs and red hair. "And now I play Naturia Forest!" All around us trees, floating rocks, and vines appeared. "And I end my turn with two face-downs."

"I draw!" I said. "And I summon Dragunity Legionnaire in Attack Mode!" The man with a beak mask and green feathered wings in a dress of some sort appeared in front of me. "Now I play the Spell Card Dragon Mastery!" Legionnaire had 1200 Attack. The Card flipped up to reveal itself to Natura. "Now I equip it with the Javelin from my hand!" The yellow armored dragon flew around and landed on Legionnaire's back. Legionnaire's Attack was raised to 1700. "Now attack her Cliff!" Legionnaire flew over with blinding speed and slashed right through that chunk of rock.

She took 200 points of damage to put her at 3800 Life Points. "Now I Special Summon my Naturia White Oak!" A thick tree with white leaves and a face planted its roots in the ground.

"I use Legionnaire's effect! Now I send Javelin to the grave to destroy one face-up monster you control!"

Legionnaire grabbed Javelin from its back and launched it at White Oak.

"I activate White Oak's effect! When he is targeted for an effect I send him to the graveyard to negate the effect and I can special summon two level four or lower Naturias from my deck. And I choose Ladybug and Rosewhip!" A small ladybug crawled up on one of the vines and a vine grew a face and merged with another vine to form a body. Now I use Naturia Forest's effect! I can add a level three or lower Naturia from my deck to my hand! And I choose Ragweed!"

"I end my turn with two face-downs."

"I draw! And I summon the Ragweed I just added to my hand!" A weed started growing straight up and a red triangular object appeared when it split in two. "Now I tune my Rosewhip and Ragweed to Synchro Summon my Naturia Barkion!" Rosewhip turned into three rings and Ragweed uprooted itself to become three stars inside the rings. A white beam went through the rings and from it sprouted a white Chinese dragon with brown bark-like armor on the top half. Its teeth came out the side of its mouth all around and five claws on each of its four feet. It sat in one spot and curled up like a snake.

"Impressive." I said. "Twenty five attack."

"That's not all. I use Ladybug's effect to raise its attack by one thousand!" Barkion ate Ladybug and its attack became 3500. "Now Barkion attack that Legionnaire!" Barkion uncurled itself and charged Legionnaire.

"Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!"

"I remove from play my Ragweed and White Oak to negate the Trap."

Barkion charged through the trap and bit Legionnaire in half.

I lost 2300 Life Points to put me at 1700.

I almost collapsed on the floor and I saw a different Barkion coming at me. I opened my eyes and got to my feet.

Natura wasn't even fazed my collapsing. "I end my turn with the Spell Card Insect Neglect." A green card with a beetle on a log in a cage revealed itself to me. Barkion went back down to 2500.

"I draw!" I looked at my hand. "I summon Dragunity Pilum, which lets me Special Summon Militum!" The green armored dragon appeared and the girl in a skirt and mask with butterfly wings appeared next to it. Then the green dragon attached itself to the butterfly girl's back. "Now I use Dragon Mastery to equip Militum with Dragunity Brandistock!" A blue armored dragon attached itself to Pilum. "Now attack Barkion!" Militum grabbed its machete and charged Barkion. "Now I activate Strike Slash!" Militum started charging faster and its attack grew by seven hundred, rasing it to 2900. It slashed right through Barkion in one clean blow.

Natura at 3400 Life Points.

"Now attack again!" Militum slashed straight through Natura.

Natura down to 500 Life points

"I end my turn."

"Nick!" Kari yelled. "Are you okay to go on?"

"I never back down from a duel!" I explained.

"Well now that Militum loses her bonus I think I'll use my Naturia Dragonfly." A small Dragonfly started buzzing around her side of the field. "I end my turn. And just so you know, Dragonfly gains 200 for each Naturia in my Grave." The little thing went from 1200 to 2000.

"You lose."

"What are you talking about? Even with the second attack Dragonfly can't be destroyed by anyone with over 2000."

"But you forget she also has Pilum. He lets her attack you directly, but the damage is halved. Still enough to finish you. Attack directly Militum!" Militum flew over Dragonfly and pulled out her small dagger and stabbed her right through the heart. "Game over."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Runner**

Kari's POV

After Nick won the money in the underground tournament I decided that he was allowed to duel. He was upset when I said, "You're allowed to duel," because he thought I was trying to control him. The argument went on for a while, but when I pointed out he was getting the money to pay rent he shut up.

_Knock, knock, knock._ I answered the door. It was a girl who was probably twenty with green eyes and black hair. She had a full figure and was wearing a tight green shirt and skinny jeans.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Is Nick here?" Her voice was soft and sweet, but there was something in there that made me think I should watch her carefully.

"Yes does he know you?"

"Yes, we met the other day."

"Okay. Nick, someone's here to see you!"

He came out in a white tank top and jeans. "Who are you?"

"She says she knows you." I explained.

"I came to see how you were feeling." She said. "You just passed out for no reason in our duel yesterday."

"You're Natura?" Nick and I said in unison.

"Yeah."

"So how did you find where I live?"

She looked at me. "I saw you ride off on your motorcycle and I saw it again today, so I followed you here."

"So what do you want?" Nick asked.

"Why did you collapse?"

"I saw another Barkion. This one was coming at _me_, trying to bite me in half. I don't know exactly what happened, but I know it was _bad_."

"Wait a minute!" I interrupted. "What do you mean there was another one coming at you?"

"I couldn't see where I was, but I saw a different Barkion coming at me."

"Why do you keep saying 'different'?" Natura said whilst taking out her deck. "Naturias are unique. Each one in here is the _only_ one. You can search the entire world, but you won't find another copy of a Naturia that's in here."

"Well this won was some kind of beast cloaked in Barkion's armor. It also had four legs in Barkion's armor."

"I know the card you mean. It is the only Naturia I don't own. The card is Naturia Exterio. It's a Fusion Monster of Barkion and Beast. He combines both of their effects in one."

"I heard that card was just a myth." I said.

"It's no myth. I've seen it. I almost had my hands on it when it just disappeared."

"What do you mean by 'disappeared'?" Nick said.

"My hand was an inch away from Exterio when it started glowing. It got brighter and brighter until I looked away. When the light dimmed I looked and back it was gone."

"That happened to me with a Dragunity Synchro that I didn't have." Nick said. "I remember that, but I don't remember where I was."

"What?"

"He has amnesia." I explained.

"Oh," she said. "Well if that's the case," she went up close to press her breasts up against him and said in a sexy voice, "I'd like to help in any way I can." She got close and whispered, "Any way."

"Alright so thanks for stopping by," I said. "But we really need to go do something, Natura."

"My name isn't Natura. I just use that as a stage name. It's really Julie. Have you ever thought of turning that motorcycle into a Duel Runner?"

"A what?" Nick said.

"A Duel Runner." Julie said. "It's a motorcycle that you duel with while riding."

"You're fucking with me, right?"

"No. I have two if you want to try it out."

"How'd you get two?" I asked.

"Lets just say I know how to gamble."

We went to her place and got the runners. The one Julie was on was a standard two-wheeler. It had a D-Pad on the front for Turbo Duels. It was vine green with vines wrapped around it. It had two protective places for the arms to go.

The other one was a three-wheeled chopper with a skull between the handlebars. It had no protection whatsoever which made me wonder how it couldn't be used. I started to think it couldn't duel because it had no D-Pad slot.

"Let me see that disk thing." Julie told Nick.

He gave it to her and asked why.

Julie just ignored him and went for the chopper. She placed the Duel Disk in the slot where the D-Pad should have gone and it fit perfectly.

"I've been meaning to find a Duel Disk," Julie said. "But they're too expensive and no one's willing to bet one."

"I feel like I've seen this Runner before." I said.

"Some guy based it off of that Greiger's guy's Runner. I just made some modifications."

"Why didn't you modify it to fit a D-Pad?"

"I was saving up for a Duel Disk."

"Can I have it back now?" Nick asked.

"No. I still need to see if I can duel with it."

"You mean if _I_ can deal with it."

"What are you talking about?"

"The way I see it: you need a Duel Disk to use this, but I don't need a Duel Runner."

"Yeah, but… I mean, but I… fine."

Nick and I went on to his Runner and turned it on. The roar of the engine was the greatest thing I had ever experienced at that point. When we were about to get out of the garage he stopped.

"What's wrong now?" Julie yelled over the engine.

Nick turned my runner off. "This isn't my runner."

"You're right, it's mine."

"No I mean if I'm gonna drive this I need to make a few adjustments."

Nick spent the next few days trying to get the runner right. When it was done it looked even better than before. Now it was based on Nick's favorite card; Dragunity Arma Leyvaten. The front wheel was now held by Leyvaten's two front hands. The back two were held by his feet. Now he rested his arms in sidebars that were in the shape of Leyvaten's sword. His favorite part was that he replaced the skull between the handlebars with Leyvaten's head.

"I did _not_ say you could change it this much!" Julie screamed when she saw what Nick did.

"Aw, you don't like it?" Nick said, sarcastically. "But you need my Duel Disk, and I'm gonna be the one dueling in it, so I decided to put my own touch on it."

"But I… I mean…"

"Are you going to say this every time I outsmart you?"

"I wanna introduce you to someone." She said, trying to change the subject. "Follow me." She got on her rider and rode off, with Nick and I following.

*********PLEASE REVIEW*********


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Ancient Tech**

Nick's POV

When Julie stopped we were in front of a seemingly abandoned garage. When we walked in I saw that it was actually still in business. There were at least four places for cars to go and one for something as big as a one-ton truck (don't know how I knew that).

She brought us over to a guy working on an old car.

"Mike." Julie said. "I got someone you're gonna wanna duel."

The guy instantly turned around. He was in his mid to late thirties. He had greasy black hair with dark brown eyes. He had a white t-shirt with grease stains and overalls on.

"Which one?" He had a southern accent.

"Me." Kari said.

"What?" Julie and I asked.

"Come on." She said. "I've got some great combos with this deck. You know I can beat him."

"I don't know if you can because I don't know how he duels." I told her.

"Look, I'm dueling, and you can't stop me." She put on her Duel Gazer.

"This'll be easy." He put on a Gazer too.

They both threw their D-Pads on.

They drew their cards and Kari said, "Ladies first. Draw! And I summon Pilgrim of the Ice Barrier!"

A man with long hair and a purple tank top appeared on the field in front of Kari. He had a purple long skirt and a black tattoos on his arms.

"And I end my turn with two face-downs." Kari put down two cards and they appeared in front of her.

"This game's already over." Mike taunted. "Draw! And I play the Spell Card Power Bond! Now I Fuse my Ancient Gear Golem, Beast, and Soldier to form the Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!"

The monster was Gigantic. It had to be at least three stories tall. It looked like a robotic centaur with three tails. Its right hand was covered with a gauntlet and its left had three claws coming out of some kind of upgrade. Its torso had gears coming out of the shoulders with a Mohawk kind of think at its head.

"Now I play my Limiter Removal!" Ultimate Golem went from 4400 to 8800 to 17,600 ATK! "Now attack my mighty beast!" Ultimate Golem brought its upgraded arm back.

"I play my Trap!" Kari yelled. "Mirror Force!" The card didn't go off. "What happened?"

"You can't activate Traps when my monster attacks." Mike said. "Now finish this!" Golem brought his claws through Pilgrim and took out all of Kari's life points in one hit.

"I… I lost." Kari said.

"Kari!" I ran over to her. "Are you okay?"

"Nick?"

"What do you need?"

"Kick his ass."

I sat her down in a nearby chair where she had a great view of the duel.

I turned my Duel Disk on. "You ready?"

"Are you going to be as easy as your girlfriend?" Mike asked.

"No. And she isn't my girlfriend."

"Then let's duel."

"I'll go first. I draw!" I looked at my hand and only had a Dragunity Arma Leyvaten, Mystical Space Typhoon, Threatening Roar, Dragunity Aklys, Mirror Force, and Dragunity Legionnaire.

"I play one card face-down and end my turn." I said.

"I draw!" Mike said.

"I play Threatening Roar." The Card of a pink beast roaring at a winged beast showed itself to Mike. "Looks like you can't attack this turn."

"Fine." Mike said. "I'll just summon my Ancient Gear Soldier in attack Mode and end my turn."

"I draw!" There it was. "And I end my turn."

"So you're giving up? Not even trying to put up a defense? Your girlfriend may have been easy to beat, but at least she didn't quit. Fine. I draw! And I use Power Bond to fuse the Ancient Gear Golem and Beast in my hand with the Soldier on my field to form Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem! Now attack!" Golem brought its arm back.

I started smiling.

"Why are you smiling? You happy you're about to lose?"

"No. I'm happy you will. You're about to be defeated by your own card.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Power Bond takes away Life Point equal to the Attack of the monster you Fusion Summoned during the End Phase. He has forty four hundred Attack, you have four thousand Life Points. It's simple math."

"But we won't get to the End Phase because Golem is gonna take out the rest of _your_ Life Points now!"

"I play Swift Scarecrow!" A scarecrow went in front of me and stopped his monster's attack.

"I… end my turn." Mike lost all confidence in his voice.

"And Power Bond's effect takes its toll." I said.

A bolt of lightening came from Golem and took all of Mike's life points.

He dropped to the floor. "How could I lose? I never lose when I have Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!"

"You lost because every card has a weakness. That's what you get when you base your deck off one card."

"So could you help me get some new strategies?"

I offered him a hand up. "Any time."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Enter the Darkness**

Author POV

A duelist has lost a duel to caped man using cards thought to have been destroyed…

"Ha," the shadowed man said. "Now I claim my prize."

"No, please." The other duelist said. "I'll do anything!"

"It's too late…"

"_AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"_

Nick's POV

_Knock, knock, knock._

I answered the door. "Hey, Julie, Mike."

"'Sup man?" Mike said.

"Hey, Nick." Julie said. Her shirt was cut lower today.

"Hi guys." I said. "Kari! Mike and Julie are here!"

She came down quickly. "Hey guys."

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked. "You sounded pretty serious on the phone."

"Have you heard about this guy they found in the street?" Mike asked. "It's so weird."

"The one without no consciousness?" Kari asked.

"Yeah. But they found a Duel Monsters card in his coat."

"What card?" I asked.

"Him." Julie finished. "It was him for a few seconds, but then it changed into a message that said 'All duelists shall suffer this man's fate'."

"So it's a warning." I said. "Well we need to rally the greatest duelists we know."

"Why?" Julie asked.

"No one guy can take out all the duelists in the world. This guy definitely knows this so he's gonna get more duelists to help him."

"So we just get all of our dueling friends?" Mike asked.

"No." I said. "Only the ones that have no fear. This guy is more than just a duelist with a cause. He can trap people in cards. He is a Shadow Duelist."

"I thought that's why we made D-Pads." Kari said. "They can't make real monsters."

"So he had a Duel Disk like me."

"Do you think you can take him?" Mike asked.

"I don't know." I admitted. "I've never dueled a Shadow Duelist."

"Well you're going to win!" Julie yelled. "You are the strongest duelist I've ever known!"

"She's right!" Kari cheered. "You can't lose!"

"You got this!" Mike yelled.

"Thanks guys." I held back the tears. "It looks like we're on patrol tonight."

We patrolled the streets for a week after that, but we had nothing. Then one fateful night…

"I hear you are duelists." A man said. He had a gravelly voice. When he stepped out of the shadows I saw he was wearing dark blue jeans with a black tank top. He had a leather jacket with three large metal spikes on the shoulders. He had spiked black hair and eyes hidden behind sunglasses (weird because it was night).

"You the shadow duelist?" I asked.

"I am." He got his disk ready. "You Nick?"

"Yeah." I got mine ready. "Let's duel."

"I'll go first." The man said. "And I'll start with a card face-down in Defense mode and end with two face-downs."

"I draw!" I said.

"I play my trap! Mind Crush!" The card was revealed to me. "I say you have a Monster Reborn in your hand."

I grinned. "You are wrong. Now _you_ have to discard a card."

He grinned. "You are correct. I discard my Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World!" The monster appeared on his side of the field.

"I see. He is summoned when discarded."

"Yes, now make your move."

"I summon Dragunity Aklys! And I'll use his effect to Special Summon the Primus Pilus in my hand! And I'll use _his_ effect to Special summon the Corsesca from my deck _and_ equip them both to Pilus!" They each to a side of the shield on his back. "Now attack the face down!" He whipped the card to reveal it and whipped it again to destroy the Renge. "Now Corsesca gets its effect!" I searched through my deck for a level four with the same Attribute and Type as Primus Pilus (Wind/Winged Beast). "Now I Summon my Dragunity Dux!" The creature rose to life. "Now his effect Activates to give him an extra 200 Attack Points for each Dragunity I have on the field. Giving him and 800 more Points! Now attack my beast!" Dux took that Beiige out in one swipe of his weapon. The man went from 4000 to 3500 Life Points. "I end my turn with two face-downs."

"First I use The Forces of Darkness to bring Beiige and Renge back to my hand. Then I play my Dark Scheme! Now either you discard a card or we both discard two and then draw two."

I didn't say anything; I just sent two to the grave and drew two.

"I discard Beiige and Sillva, Warlord of Dark World." They both came to his field. "Now I use Temple of the Kings. So I can use Traps when they are Set. So I use my Rising Energy on Vanguard and then use Eradicator Epidemic Virus!" Beiige turned into little jellyfish-like things that went into my deck. "Now you get no monsters for three turns. I end with a face-down."

"I draw!" It was my Leyvaten.

"Send it to the grave."

"I play Magical Mallet."

"I use my Dark Deal! So now by paying 1000 Life Points you make me discard one card. And it is my Reign-Beaux, Overlord of Dark World! Now you lose all your Spells and Traps!"

A gust of wind destroyed my cards. "I end with a face-down."

"I play Mystical Space Typhoon." My card was trapped in a vortex and struck with a lightening bolt to destroy it. "Now I Sacrifice my Reign-Beaux and Sillva to summon Maju Garzett!" A humanoid figure mostly of bones and hair rose. "Now he gets Attack equal to the combined Attack of the Tributed Monsters." He had 4800 Attack! "Now attack directly!" Maju Garzett's fist going through me and stealing my soul is the last thing I remember.

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	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Up to Us**

Kari's POV

"Your friend is pathetic." The man said. "From the rumors I heard he should have had a defense against every card in my deck."

"He's never dueled a Shadow Duelist!" I screamed at him.

"Is that what he said? He dueled plenty. He used to be called the Shadow Slayer. And with him finally out of the way we can destroy all duelists!" He went over to Nick's body. "This is odd. No card. It is not a problem. His soul is in the Shadow Realm." The man disappeared.

"What do we do now?" Mike and I looked at Julie.

"Why are you looking at me?" She asked.

"You're the strongest out of all of us."

"I don't know how to lead!"

"Leading isn't something you know." Mike said. "It's an instinct. I've known you since we were kids. You _have_ that instinct."

"But I… I mean… I just… you're right."

"So what now?" I asked.

"We train."

We trained for weeks before we even went out at nights. Mike gave us each our own special Duel Disks that he designed. His was like Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem's "upgraded" arm. Julie's was covered in vines that changed into the shape of a duelist when she dueled. Mine was clear like ice, but it had wires in it. The strangest part was that when you looked through it you didn't see them; you only saw what was behind it.

"These are amazing." I said.

"I know." Julie said. "How did you do this?"

"I've been working on Duel Disks ever since you told me you needed one." Mike said. "When we became a team I thought it would be nice if everyone had one that was unique."

"Well let's not waste any time." Julie said. "Let's hit the road."

We walked around for a while and when we were about to give up we stopped a guy just before he got into a Shadow Duel.

"I'll Duel you." I said.

"No, Kari, let me take this." Julie said.

"I can do this. Trust me."

"Can we get this over with?" The Shadow Duelist asked. He had a raspy voice. He was wearing the same thing the last one was.

"Just be careful." Julie said.

"Always." I told her. "Now let's duel."

"I'll go first." The Shadow Duelist said. "I draw! And I Summon my Pyramid Turtle in Attack Mode!" A turtle with a pyramid as the top of its shell appeared in front of him. "Then I play two face-downs and end my turn."

"I draw! And I play my Magic Triangle of the Ice Barrier!" A triangle surrounded Pyramid Turtle. At the tips of it were Defender, Sacred Spirit, and Secret Guards. An eruption happened at the center of the triangle and destroyed Turtle. "And since he was destroyed by an effect you don't get his. _And_ now I get to special summon an Ice Barrier from my hand. And I choose my Defender in Defense Mode!" My ice-covered wolf rose on my field and curled up in a ball. "Now I Normal Summon my Dance Princess in Attack Mode!" The princess danced on my field and stopped in front of me. "Now I use her effect to reveal Sacred Spirit and Secret Guards to return those face-downs to your hand." The cards shot back to his hand. "Now Attack my Princess!" She danced over and kicked him across the face, taking out 1700 Life Points. "Now I end my turn with two face-downs."

"I draw! And I play Mezuki!" The minotaur-ish thing rose on the car. "Now I end my turn with a face-down."

"I draw! And I Summon Dewdark of the Ice Barrier!" The assassin rose on the field. "And I tune him with Dance Princess to Synchro Summon Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!" The serpent dragon rose and curled up on the field. "Now I discard Sacred Spirit an Sacred Guards to return those two cards to your hand!" Brio flew over, picked up the face down and Mezuki and threw them at the Shadow Duelist's hand. "Now Attack my dragon!" Brionac shot a white beam of ice at the shadow duelist.

"_Aaaaauuuuuugggggghhhh!"_ The man roared.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked.

"I don't know." Julie answered.

"Could his soul be getting sent to the Shadow Realm?" Mike asked.

"What's happening?" Them man had a normal voice now. There was black smoke coming from his body.

"You are being sent to the Shadow Realm." The raspy voice returned. The black smoke went to a rooftop and turned into a hooded man.

"What?"

"I do not need your body anymore, so you will take my place in the Shadow Realm."

"That's not fair!" I yelled. "You lost the duel, _you_ go to the Shadow Realm!"

"I don't think so." He turned into black smoke and vanished.

I turned to Julie. "What now?"

"We have to keep fighting." She said. "No matter what happens innocent people will be hurt."

"What if we aren't hurting innocents?" Mike asked.

"What are you talking about?" Julie asked.

"I know that face. He was an escaped convict. He was charged with armed robbery. And the last one was an escaped killer. They're taking over criminals."

"So it's like justice?" I said.

"Exactly." Julie said. "Now let's all go home and get some rest."

When I was sleeping that night I had the weirdest dream of my life. I dreamt that I was in a graveyard and Nick was there too.

"You have to listen to me." He said. "We don't have much time."

"I thought you were dead." I said.

"There is a way to bring me back. You need to find five Dragunity Synchros: Vajrayana, Gae Bulg, Gae Dearg, Trident, and Barcha. I met them, and they told me that if they were assembled in our world they could bring me back. I trust you can do it."

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